Denys Swann
Denys Swann is the lord of Stonehelm. He is the son of Gawen Swann and Cassana Dondarrion. Appearance Denys Swann has the trademark golden hair of House Swann, and has grey eyes that are usually cold, but sometimes warm to life when seeing a close friend or family member. He usually holds up a mask to prevent his true feelings from coming through, although sometimes his emotions crack through when either he is flustered or shocked enough. He normally prefers blue as his main color to wear. Personality Denys is a kind and empathetic man, although he tries to hide his emotions when he is among strangers. He does not hold grudges for a while, although takes note of strangers behavior, and has a good memory. His mind is not the sharpest in Westeros, however he tries to help others the best he can. History Old History 373 AC-389 AC From the day Denys Swann was born, he attempted to be the best in all skills that he could. He trained in swords and arms with the Lord Commander of the Order of Grey, Durron Swann, and learned to read with the Good Maester Pyros. He loved his father, Gawen, but did not spend much time with him in his later years, preferring to build his skills on his own, with his siblings Rhaenyra, Faelyse, and Vaemon. He also liked spending time with his childhood friends, Edric Dondarrion and Brandon Storm, from time to time. As the years went by, and Gawen was seen as weaker and weaker, whispers went by of how easy it would be to take over House Swann. Gawen's heir was Denys, a boy of ten and seven; kill him and Gael, a boy of ten and two, and the succession of Stonehelm would be left to an infant, whose regent could easily be someone from another house. Thus, the groundwork was laid. 390 AC In 390 AC, the fateful Mertyn Uprising came to occur. Through he eventually beat the knights of House Mertyn that attacked him in his chambers, he was extremely saddened when he heard of his father's passing. He ascended to become the Lord of Stonehelm a few weeks after, on his left side his family and on his right side his closest advisors and friends. In the aftermath, Denys's childhood sword Swansong had been damaged significantly in the one-on-three defense. The sword was reforged with new metal and given to Denys's younger sibling Vaemon Swann, while he received a new castle-forged blade; Honorbound. 391 AC-395 AC Denys continued to shape the way Stonehelm was made throughout these four years post-Uprising. He organized the distribution of materials to smallfolk villages surrounding Stonehelm, and helped make them self-sufficient. In response, many of these villages renamed themselves in a pattern, ending in "swan" or "sept"; examples are the towns Swansong, Swansept, Rainsept, Greensong, and so on. Denys continued to spar with his friends Brandon and Edric, and brought a new era of equality between the junior and senior lines of House Swann. He made efforts to connect with many of his family; such as his mentor's son Durran, the friendly Johanna, and the charming Gwayne. In 395 AC, the Lord Commander of the Order of Grey, Durron Swann, stepped down from the post to spend time with his wife and child. When the men of the Order picked Denys's childhood friend Brandon Storm as the next Lord Commander, he was extremely happy. 395-400 AC Over the next five years, Denys continued to integrate the junior and senior lines of House Swann into one, while taking care of Stonehelm, and keeping an eye on his younger brother Gael. Balancing these three made him envy those who did not know of the tasks that kept him busy, while also respecting what responsibility meant. Then, an invitation arrived by raven. Lord Swann was invited to a tournament in King's Landing. Recent Events The Black Feast Denys Swann was in his chambers when Lord Godric invited him to a grand feast that King Vaeron Targaryen was holding, in the great hall. After some eating and drinking, the poison kicked in. Denys watched as King Vaeron, his Kingsguard, and many lords and ladies assembled began choking. Startled, he began to get up, grabbing his sister Faelyse... only to hear a startled breath from his left. His mentor, Durron Swann, was losing his life. Durron, in his dying breath, asked Denys to make sure his son would grow up strong. With this, Denys and Faelyse fled to the Stormlands Chambers, while his brother Vaemon associated with the heir to Highgarden, Loras Tyrell. Throughout the knight, Lord Godric Baratheon would have Denys investigate the small council chambers, to see if there were any clues to why this poisoning had happened. The Great Council As the days progressed, Lord Godric instituted himself as Lord Marshall of King's Landing, a move that Denys disagreed with. While the city needed leadership, it should have been all the Great Houses participating. Eventually, the day of the Great Council came, and Godric began the meeting... by decapitating a woman. This inspired much backlash, as no one knew whether that woman was truly part of the conspiracy that had caused the death of the King, or whether Godric had assassinated an innocent peasant. Godric proposed two things that must be voted on, in light of the North, the Vale, and Dorne attempting to declare their independence. First, whether Westeros would stay united under the Iron Throne, or each region would become its own Kingdom, forming a Council of Kings. After the people voted on this (Unification of Westeros won out), the process then moved to the Great Council. The two candidates were Lord Victor Lannister and Lord Godric Baratheon. In a close vote, Victor Lannister was elected King of Westeros. In the aftermath of this, Lord Godric (under the pretense of being Lord Marshall of King's Landing) arrested many noblemen, noblewomen, and courts belonging to the Kingdom of the North, the Kingdom of the Vale, and the Principality of Dorne. He also seized Allyria and Ericka Stark, and held them captive in his chambers. Denys watched the capture of the nobles with disgust from the balconies of the Red Keep above, and informed Godric's grandson Dykk Baratheon of the attack. The Lightning Lord's Discontent Lord Godric's failures to observe due process and betrayal of the King led to the dissatisfaction of many lords, and Stormlords especially. Lord Denys Swann and his childhood friend, Lord Edric Dondarrion, discussed his failures. They observed as the North, Vale, and Dorne broke away one by one. The King hadn't been in power for more than a week. A majority of the Stormlords followed the Red God, and House Baratheon claimed too; however, it was suspected by many this allegiance to the Red God by House Baratheon was only to maintain the loyalty of banner men. Perhaps a new kingdom should''' '''be formed; The Holy Kingdom. The Lord of Lightning and the True Swan discussed well into the night, on beaches and battlements of the Red Keep. They were to ride south, and continue these talks... however, a peculiar thing happened. On his way out of the capital, Lord Edric found an in-training Red Priestess in his tent, who had amnesia. They stated that their name was Lace. Lord Edric, assuming that the Red Temple of Blackhaven had sent an initiate, accepted her into his entourage and left the capital. On the Kingsroad, Lord Edric's carriage had slowed enough for the horseback men of Lord Denys, his siblings, and the Order of Grey retinue to catch up to them. The two met, and talked strategy - namely, how they would deal with Lord Godric's army, which was marching towards Blackhaven, in order to deal with the Dornish threat. Denys had a keen memory of the faces of the families in and around The Stormlands. Thus, when he saw the face of Edric's new initiate, Lace, he asked if she could go get a map for him. Once Lace had left the carriage, Denys immediately informed Edric that he was holding the Princess Lyanna Martell of Sunspear. Edric planned to go the less honorable route, and keep "Lace" in his care all the way to Blackhaven, where he would then call Prince Kaskeron Martell to Blackhaven. Once Prince Kaskeron arrived, Edric would reveal Lyanna, and strengthen ties between the Principality of Dorne and the Holy Kingdom. Denys, however, did not like this plan. It was dishonorable, in his eyes, and had no set timetable; by letting it go on he would be complicit in allowing the Princess to continue to have her identity kept from her. Thus, he devised a plan. After raising his armies at Grandview, he rode to Blackhaven with twenty cloaked and masked Knights of the Grey. Upon arrival at Blackhaven, he asked to be allowed inside, and while waiting, asked "Lace" to come with him. His guards followed, and he initiated a sequence of movement designed to confuse outside observers. Meanwhile, a chosen guard pulled "Lace" into a bathroom, hurriedly switched clothes with them, and exited. After this, Denys left Blackhaven, and rode on the Boneway to Stonehelm. He gave Princess Lyanna Martell a safe method of transportation to Sunspear, and she left on her way. The Princess Lyanna had been rescued. God Fucking Damnit, Tarth Unfortunately, Denys's good streak would not last long. Lord Harrion Tarth of Evenfall Hall had reformed the Warrior's Sons, and attacked the keep of Greenstone on Estermont. Category:RP Characters